The Berry Patch is a place in TN where the Berry Family dwell, abiding in Christ and aspiring to become more like Him day-by-day.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

November 19, 2014 … Grumble, Grumble!!

Daily Berry Patch Devotions in 2014 - Day 323

Devotional Song: Go to this link … Please take the time to take in Sara Groves’ poignant and powerful song Eyes On the Prize. … reminding Christians that is so easy to get our eyes off of the prize of our relationship with our Lord and His promises for our eternal future.

Highlight Passage - NKJV Numbers 11: 1 … God shows off with His miraculous providence; and what do His children do … GRUMBLE!! …1 Now when the people complained, it displeased the Lord; for the Lord heard it, and His anger was aroused. So the fire of the Lord burned among them, and consumed some in the outskirts of the camp.============Highlight Context #1 - Numbers 11: 1-10 [NKJV] … USE THIS LINK … God provides and what do we do? … Grumble!!
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Reference Passage #1 … Mark 15: 11-15 [NKJV] ... USE THIS LINK … The same people who cried HOSANNA, celebrating Christ’s entrance to Jerusalem as the Messiah, … just a few days later were grumbling and crying, “Crucify Him!!!”

Reference Passage #2 … Romans 8: 28 [NKJV] … 28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. …
True; … but do we believe it when things get tough? ... Or do we grumble?!

My Journal for Today: Today’s Our Daily Bread devotional entry, authored by Marvin Williams, hit me right where I needed God’s wisdom this morning, … a kick in the behind, reminding me of so many times when God’s people [and me] experienced His wondrous works and then … grumble, grumble, grumble!!!

And Williams used a story about how his friend, Max Lucado, was trying to complete a triathlon; and desiring to quit during the race, Lucado found himself listening to another competitor who was grumbling about his pain and inabilities; and Lucado realized that if he stayed around this “loser,” he was going to end up being influenced by his grumblings and he would lose sight of why he was there … and that was to finish the race.

When you go back and take in all those Old Testament stories, like the highlight passages linked above, of God intervening miraculously on the part of His people … delivering them from slavery in Egypt, taking them through a parted Red Sea, giving them manna to eat, and going ahead of them for 40 years in the wilderness; and what did God’s people do, over and over again? … GRUMBLE!!!

Jesus comes on the scene; and the people see Him perform miracle after miracle; and when He enters David’s city just before His time of glory over death, the people were acclaiming Him as their “Messiah.” … Then, just a few days later, many of these same people were grumbling and crying “Crucify Him!!!” … because they saw the God-Man being unjustly accused by the religious leaders.

My friends, I would wager, though I’m not a gambler, that you who read with me here believe the truth of Romans 8: 28, copied above. But how often do we, who’ve been delivered to eternal life by our faith in Christ, grumble or complain when things get tough in our lives. I’m under conviction here today, … ad admitted grumbler, … and one who needs this heavy dose of faith testing from this ODB entry, … testing in order to realize the truth of Deut. 31: 8 and Prov. 3: 5-6, which you probably know by heart.

But if not, and if you find yourself grumbling over small stuff and taking your “eyes off the prize” of where Christ is leading us (see the song link above), … then perhaps it would be a good idea to go to those latter verses, as I have today, and meditate on whether we are staying on God’s course for our life … or are we getting side-tracked by our grumbling spirits?

Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled Our Daily Bread, distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.